I Had My First Panic Attack At 27, Shares Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar With Humans Of Bombay

IWB Post

June 13, 2018

In a recent interaction with the Humans Of Bombay, filmmaker Zoya Akhtar shared how “pieces” of her life like spending quality time with her family, her inner monologues, her travels and having a great relationship with her brother Farhan Akhtar reflect in her work.

“Pieces of my life, no matter how scattered, are being stitched together and reflect in my work. The biggest piece is my family — from watching films like The Godfather on our dining room wall to having a great relationship with my sibling. Or going on weekend trips with our cousins to the beach and eating all day… it’s been a crazy childhood; a ‘bohemian one,” she shared.

She next talked about the biggest challenge that she faced at the age of 27. “I had my first panic attack at 27. It’s not something you can ignore, you can’t sit around and get sucked into a rabbit hole. I chose to get help immediately. It took a while to work things out but I am fine now. You realize you have to become aware of your inner monologue. The things you say to yourself. This raised my consciousness so it was vital to my growth, I would say,” she said.

She shares that though she likes the work she has done till now “that one perfect film is yet to come.” “That’s the best part; it’s something to always look forward to. Something to strive for, something I can only hope to create,” she said.

The filmmaker is currently busy working on her next project, Gully Boy, a film which will trace the life of street rappers in Mumbai.